THE ASHBURTON ELECTION

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 6903, 8 November 1887, Page 6

THE ASHBURTON ELECTION

TO THE EDITOR £>F THE PRESS. Sir,—l shall feel oblged if you will find room in your columns tor the enclosed correspondence on the subject of my complaint to the Charitab- Aid Board of the improper influence of the master of the Old Me_s Home, at Ashburton, with the freedom of voting of the inmates of that establishment at the late election, lms correspondence is in continuation or certain letters which appear in a report ot a meeting of the Board published in your issue of the 13th October.-I am, ««-*•■ Chas. W. Pcrneli- ! Ashburton, 4th November.

CbariUtlo Aid Office, Christchurdi.2oth October. IS*-*.-Sir,-I have the honor; by direction of the United District receipt of your letter of the Sth ult.. calling the Board's attention to the »<tion of the Master of the Old Men's Home on tha occasion of the recent election at Ashburtt*-, and in reply to inform you that promptly on receipt (and previon** to tlie Boards meet—g on the 12th inst.) the Home Committee Iwd been requested to inquire- fully into, the natter, and that the Committee's report was amy received and presented to the Board, whereupon a resolutiqn was carried unanimously that the explanation given by the Master waa satisfactory to the Board. . ». For your information i beg to enclose a copy of Mr Fox's letter, wlicn was published in extenso in the "Lytteicn Times" and Press newspapers of the—"th list., together with your Ihav«, i_c, (Signed) H_os. C. Norris, , Secretary. C.W. Purne-.Ksq., AshbT|iton.

Ashburtin, 22nd October. 1887. The Chairman Ashburton and North Canter- ' bury Unitod Charit—lie Aid Board. " Sir,—l am in receipt „ Mr Norris' letter or thc 20th inst. While —(inking the Board for its prompt attention toilny complaint, I venture to think it has scar—ly taken the proper stops to get at the real ft.i.-ts of the case. The members of thc Home Ciinmittee, to whom it appears the matter was —forred, were (if I am not misinformed as to thair names) themselves actively engaged in praiiotinjt Mr Walker's candidature, and can therifore hardly be considered an impartial tribunal for the investigation of a complaint of 'this nature. At all events they did not deem it necessary to advise mc that they had bean appointed to make the investigation, or giveßiie an opportunity of calling witnesses in s'upptit of the allegations contained in my letter, winch I was quite prepared to do, and had th«;evidence of my witnesses been fully laid bofojto thc Board. I doubt whether it would havo regurdtd Mr Fox's explanation as ent——ictory. - The absurdity of that tart of Mr Fox's explanation in which he sat *i that his reason for calling one of the in_latcs W tho Home away from a supporter of mini With whom he was talking, was that he " wislad to get all the inmates nome as soon as pcnaiblo, will be manifest when I B—.te that at the time when this incident occ—tred, several of the old men had not voted, and after Wheyhhd all voted they did not return to tho Home, as they had come from it. in a body, while is<>—to were lounging about the neighborhood qfthe polling booth during the greater part of fhe morning. Mr fox's proceedings were, Jn fact, a topic of common conversation duriitsthe election day. However, under the circtnlistanccs, I do not wish to press this matterif iirther, and I only make thc foregoing observations in my own iustiftcation. I trust, nevertheless, the Board will see its way to issue: standing instructions to the master of the Home that ho is not to take an active part in elections, or to interfere with the free exercise of the franchise byltet inmates, whose dependant position must tucessarily render them peculiarly amenable td anything in thc I>—st degree approaching to intimidation on the part of the officials under whose charge they are placed.—Yours, &c, Cam. W. Pctrnell.